Hello and welcome back to Musician’s Maintenance where it’s my job to find interesting resources, exercises, and ideas to help you get moving without getting injured.
Here’s what I’ve got this week 1) A musician’s quarantine wellness challenge 2) An Introduction to the diaphragm 3) The single best thing we can do for our health.
(Note: If you enjoy these newsletters, please consider forwarding this email to a friend, colleague, teacher or classmate. They can sign up here and then you won’t be the only one you know doing the 30 day challenge).
Let’s go…
1) Musician’s Quarantine Wellness Challenge
If you’re having trouble getting things done during this time of quarantine, perhaps a community challenge is what you need. Lucky for you Austin Pancer of The Functional Musician has put together exactly with the 30 Day Quarantine Wellness Challenge.
So you’ve got quality workouts (you can choose either bodyweight or dumbbell) from someone who really knows what musicians need, plus nutrition advice, plus community, plus the chance to win prizes, and it’s only $1 per day. What have you got to lose?
I don’t usually include things that cost money here, aside from the sponsor section. To be clear, I have no financial relationship with The Functional Musician, I just think this is going to be a good program for relatively cheap. The challenge begins on Monday May 4, so click below, check out the details and get signed up.
Join: Musician’s Quarantine Wellness Challenge | The Functional Musician
Sponsor: The Musician’s Body
If only our bodies came with a users manual, it would be much easier to figure out how to avoid issues and fix the common ones that come up. That’s exactly what The Musician’s Body has tried to do. It’s an actionable book with a very accessible writing style containing advice on topics like the basics of how your body works, situations musicians face that put you at risk, psychological factors and much more.
Sponser: The Musician’s Body: A Maintenance Manual for Peak Performance by Jaume Rosset i Llobet (Affiliate: If you buy the book through this link, I get a small portion of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the Musician’s Maintenance mission!)
2) Introduction to the Diaphragm
Dr. Janice Ying of Opus Physical Therapy recently wrote a “Muscle Monday” post on one of my favorite muscles: the diaphragm. This is a must know muscle for musicians because it affects so many different areas. If you were to come and see me as a patient, I would take a look at what this muscle is doing regardless of the location of your pain.
I’ve heard so many times that musicians should have a basic understanding of anatomy, and this is a great resource to do just that. Plus she has some cool real time MRI videos!
Click below and learn some anatomy.
Read: Introduction to the Diaphragm | Opus Physical Therapy
3) What is the single best thing we can do for our health?
It turns out doing something amazing for your health doesn’t have to be complicated. This video discusses perhaps the simplest activity you can do that influences a bunch of different areas, all of which are important for musicians.
Plus it’s free, requires no equipment, and you can do it safely even during times of quarantine.
Watch: 23 1/2 Hours. What is the single best thing we can do for our health (~9 min)